B4A Library DesignSupport - Additional Material Design components

This library is a wrapper to some of the objects of Googles Design Support library.

Requirements:

This library requires B4A 6.31 or above.
From V2.32 on B4A V6.80 or newer is required. If you use an older B4A version use the V2.31 library.
AppCompat 3.30 or above is required.
The examples need some additional libraries like AHViewPager, XMLViewEx, XMLLayoutBuilder

Currently it supports:

• Snackbar - The new modern toastmessages
  
  
• TabLayout - The new material like tabs with fixed tabs and scrolling tabs feature. Works standalone or together with a ViewPager library. Supports icons as tabs and custom layouts for the tabs.
  
  
• FloatlabelEditText - An enhanced EditText object that supports a floating label, counter and error messages.
  
  
• FloatingActionButton - A very simple Floating Action Button. Has show- and hide animations but is very simple.
  
• NavigationDrawer - Material Design compliant Navigation Drawer. See NavigationView Example for detailed instructions.
  
• BottomNavigationView - Material Design compliant Bottom Navigation View. See BottomNavigationView Example for detailed instructions.
  

Installation:

Note: Please, Please read these instructions carefully. AppCompat depends on many things like a special theme with special features. Even special versions of build tools are required and last but not least there are often bugs in the Google support libraries.

I created this instructions to help you getting things ready for using AppCompat. So please follow these instructions carefully and all should work as expected and you don't have to ask in the forum.

Thanks.

1. This library depends on the AppCompat library. So do all the setup needed for AppCompat.
2. Copy the DesignSupport.xml, DesignSupport.jar and DesignSupport.aar files to your CustomLibs folder
3. Install/Update Android Support Packages with the SDK Manager.

Setup and usage:

1. Setup your project like a project that uses AppCompat library.

If you want to use the DSFloatlabelEditText object with the ErrorText or counter feature you should add the following item to your Theme:

<item name="textColorError">@color/design_textinput_error_color_light</item>

Otherwise your app will crash if the textinput reaches the maxCounter length.

If you want to use the DSNavigationDrawer object you should add the following items to your Theme:

<item name="android:windowDrawsSystemBarBackgrounds">true</item>
<item name="android:statusBarColor">@android:color/transparent</item>

Your support:
Creating libraries and wrappers for existing library projects is a lot of work. The use of this library is totally free and you even don't need to mention in your app that you use it.
But if you use this library in your projects and you think it is useful to you please consider to make a donation:

Thanks very much for your support.

Version History:

V1.00

• Initial version with SnackBar and TabLayout objects.

V2.00

• Requires B4A 6.0 or above
• Uses new Maven repositories for support libraries
• Enhanced Designer support (custom properties are supported)
• New: DSFloatlabelEditText - New EditText with floating label, counter, error messages
• New: DSFloatingActionButton - Standard Floating Action Button.

V2.10

• New: Requires Support Repository 36
• New: DSNavigationDrawer - A complete DrawerLayout implementation/wrapper
• New: DSNavigationView
• New: Support for ShowPasswordToggle in FloatLabelEditText
• Fix: FloatLabelEditText.Enabled=True/False should work now.

V2.20

• Fix: DSNavigationDrawer should work without a secondary drawer.
• New: BottomNavigationView - Wrapper for the BottomNavigationView
• Fix: Some minor fixes and changes

V2.21

• Fix: DSTablayout can use other ViewPagers than AHViewPager
• Fix: Small internal bugfixes.

V2.22

• Fix: Change packagename to anywheresoftware.b4a.orbjects to reduce resouce fields

V2.23

• Fix: Fix error in FloatLabelEditText

V2.30

• New: Dismiss event for DSSnackbar
• New: Support CharSequence where possible

V2.31

• Fix: Getters return String instead of CharSequence to avoid problems.

V2.32

• Fix: Compiled against B4A 6.80 Core library to avoid some problems with CharSequences.

V3.00

• Fix: Compiled against Support Library 28.0.0 to fix a problem with TabLayout

 

[ken87]

Buongiorno,
Compilando il progetto ho i seguenti errori:
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:339: error: Attribute "android:alpha" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationX" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationY" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationZ" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\savedstate\savedstate\1.1.0\unpacked-savedstate-1.1.0\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\lifecycle\lifecycle-viewmodel\2.3.1\unpacked-lifecycle-viewmodel-2.3.1\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\lifecycle\lifecycle-runtime\2.3.1\unpacked-lifecycle-runtime-2.3.1\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected


Come posso risolvere?

 

[so27]

Buongiorno,
Compilando il progetto ho i seguenti errori:
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:339: error: Attribute "android:alpha" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationX" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationY" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\constraintlayout\constraintlayout\2.0.4\unpacked-constraintlayout-2.0.4\res\values\values.xml:342: error: Attribute "android:translationZ" has already been defined
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\savedstate\savedstate\1.1.0\unpacked-savedstate-1.1.0\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\lifecycle\lifecycle-viewmodel\2.3.1\unpacked-lifecycle-viewmodel-2.3.1\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected
d:\sdk2\sdk\tools\..\extras\b4a_remote\androidx\lifecycle\lifecycle-runtime\2.3.1\unpacked-lifecycle-runtime-2.3.1\res\values\values.xml:3: error: Found tag id where item is expected


Come posso risolvere?

Did you update the files in the SDK Manager? If so, then this could be where the error lies. The only thing that helped me was a backup to work around the error.

 

[DonManfred]

Buongiorno,
Compilando il progetto ho i seguenti errori:

this is the english part of the forum. Please write - at least - english here or post the thread in the Italian forum.

 

[ken87]

good evening
Only version that finds 2.0.4 that doesn't work

 

[DonManfred]

Only version that finds 2.0.4 that doesn't work

You are compiling against AndroidX?
Or are you strill using the old android support libraries?

Post your Compilewindow-Text...

Based on your inital post some parts are "already defined".
This usually happen if you are using Components which are not compatible with AndroidX.

 

[pos8000]

I would like to know the last B4A version and Android SDK version that can use DSTabLayout normally?
I used B4A5.5+adnroid-22 to work normally before
My current B4A13.4 android-36 encountered an error while compiling:

B4A Version: 13.40
Parsing code. (0.00s)
Java Version: 19
Building folders structure. (0.01s)
Compiling code. (0.00s)
Compiling layouts code. (0.00s)
Organizing libraries. (0.00s)
(AndroidX SDK)
Compiling resources (0.02s)
Linking resources (1.64s)
build tools: 36.0.0, android jar: android-36
Compiling debugger engine code. (0.00s)
Compiling generated Java code. Error
B4A line: 63
TabLayout.SetViewPager(VP)
src\example\tablayout\fixedtabsicon\main.java:424: 错误: 无法访问ViewPager
mostCurrent._tablayout.SetViewPager((androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager)(mostCurrent._vp.getObject()));
^
找不到android.support.v4.view.ViewPager的类文件
注: src\example\tablayout\fixedtabsicon\main.java使用或覆盖了已过时的 API。
注: 有关详细信息, 请使用 -Xlint:deprecation 重新编译。
1 个错误

 

[asales]

I would like to know the last B4A version and Android SDK version that can use DSTabLayout normally?
I used B4A5.5+adnroid-22 to work normally before

Since B4A 10.7 (2021) this lib is not supported anymore:

B4A v10.7 is available for download

Download link: https://www.b4x.com/b4a.html In the last couple of years, Google made many changes to Android, quite complex, building toolchain. With a few workarounds, it was possible to keep using the older tools, but at this point we have reached their limits. This update replaces several...

www.b4x.com

 

[pos8000]

Since B4A 10.7 (2021) this lib is not supported anymore:

B4A v10.7 is available for download

Download link: https://www.b4x.com/b4a.html In the last couple of years, Google made many changes to Android, quite complex, building toolchain. With a few workarounds, it was possible to keep using the older tools, but at this point we have reached their limits. This update replaces several...

www.b4x.com

Thank you, your help has been a great help to me. Do you have B4A10.6 and android28 resources?

 

[Scantech]

I would like to know the last B4A version and Android SDK version that can use DSTabLayout normally?
I used B4A5.5+adnroid-22 to work normally before
My current B4A13.4 android-36 encountered an error while compiling:

B4A Version: 13.40
Parsing code. (0.00s)
Java Version: 19
Building folders structure. (0.01s)
Compiling code. (0.00s)
Compiling layouts code. (0.00s)
Organizing libraries. (0.00s)
(AndroidX SDK)
Compiling resources (0.02s)
Linking resources (1.64s)
build tools: 36.0.0, android jar: android-36
Compiling debugger engine code. (0.00s)
Compiling generated Java code. Error
B4A line: 63
TabLayout.SetViewPager(VP)
src\example\tablayout\fixedtabsicon\main.java:424: 错误: 无法访问ViewPager
mostCurrent._tablayout.SetViewPager((androidx.viewpager.widget.ViewPager)(mostCurrent._vp.getObject()));
^
找不到android.support.v4.view.ViewPager的类文件
注: src\example\tablayout\fixedtabsicon\main.java使用或覆盖了已过时的 API。
注: 有关详细信息, 请使用 -Xlint:deprecation 重新编译。
1 个错误

True, library is not supported anymore but i can assure you it works with latest resource and b4a 13.4. My old project compiles just fine with DSTablayout. Recheck your line 63. I am no expert but it can work.

what version is your AHViewpager? Should be 3.00 and also make sure designsupport library is the latest.

Chatgpt said

Solution:

Update AHViewPager to an AndroidX-compatible version, or

Enable Jetifier in B4A (Tools → Configure Paths → Use AndroidX + Jetifier) and rebuild.

So, yes — the problem is AHViewPager, not DSTabLayout.

AHViewPager versions before 3.00 are outdated because they rely on the old Android Support Library (android.support.v4.*), which is no longer maintained

AHViewPager 3.00+ is updated and AndroidX-compatible, so it’s not outdated — it works fine with current B4A setups.

AHVIEWPAGER

Dont forget to jetify

 

[pos8000]

True, library is not supported anymore but i can assure you it works with latest resource and b4a 13.4. My old project compiles just fine with DSTablayout. Recheck your line 63. I am no expert but it can work.

what version is your AHViewpager? Should be 3.00 and also make sure designsupport library is the latest.

Chatgpt said

Solution:

Update AHViewPager to an AndroidX-compatible version, or

Enable Jetifier in B4A (Tools → Configure Paths → Use AndroidX + Jetifier) and rebuild.

So, yes — the problem is AHViewPager, not DSTabLayout.

AHViewPager versions before 3.00 are outdated because they rely on the old Android Support Library (android.support.v4.*), which is no longer maintained

AHViewPager 3.00+ is updated and AndroidX-compatible, so it’s not outdated — it works fine with current B4A setups.

AHVIEWPAGER

Dont forget to jetify

Thank you for helping me, for the reason that I didn't have: Jetifier
Everything is now in order.
I am deeply grateful to you, my friend